Maybe I'm NOT Super Woman after all

"I am Super Woman. Yes I am!! See me when I'm a mess still put on a vest with an "S" on my chest....I'm a Super Woman", Alicia Keys croons in her song "Super Woman". I relate to that song in more ways than I can express. I've always been that "Super Woman". I look like I have my life all together-from my finances down to my pretty, pretty shoes :) You'd almost never catch me without a smile on my face even while I juggle the myriad responsibilities that God has placed in my lap. You see, I canot take credit for any of my joy, though. God has sooooo filled my cup that it is impossible for me not to be joyful in the midst of it all. His strength is constantly made perfect in ALL of my many weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)

With me, though, that "see me when I'm a mess" part causes me to raise my eyebrows. Me? A mess? Never!!! I like to come off as perfect. Come on, I'm blessed beyond belief! My problems are mine to deal with alone and no one else is allowed to see my vulnerabilities. Maybe, if I live my life with this shield up, this facade of perfection, it will all work out. My shields and my walls became my protection. Unfortunately, more and more recently, they are beginning to look like my prison. The humanity-the raw and negative emotions that we all need to let out sometimes-have been so shut in that letting them out has become work. Yet, I refuse to give up. My challenge is to recognize that hey, I'M NOT GOD!!! He's not calling me to perfection-He's calling me to excellence.

Beating myself up because of mistakes I make, from little and trivial to so huge that they hurt the people I love the most, is useless. I am learning that I WILL FALL. Why should I be scared of something that's inevitable any way. A very very intelligent person said to me, "I'm not scared of falling......I just know that if I fall I'll get back up again." The same person told me, "You are so scared of falling that you are not climbing." Today, I listen and I want you all too. Women, let's keep our guard up, our hearts protected and our minds secure but let us not allow those things to become our prison.

Join me on this journey of climbing. Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me." He has done his part. It's time for me to begin mine :)

Feminity Series-A Day in a Woman's Mind

What does it mean to be a woman, to be that gender that is called "Female"? What is it that God had in mind when He thought about us, designed us and finally created us? We are the epitome of creation, God's masterpiece (Thank you Stacie Elderidge "Captivating"), the most beautiful of all the creatures on earth. Men fawn at us, gaze at us, lose their minds in their admiration, "love" us to distraction!!! Wouldn't it be simply amazing if we understood that about ourselves? Wouldn't it be awesome to know loads and loads of women who recognize that they are badddddd mama jammas: confident, intelligent, made in God's image, priceless and irreplaceable?

The reality of the matter is that almost all women see the negatives in themselves far too often. We cling to negative images, criticisms and flaws and quietly discard the compliments that have been thrown our way time and time again. We are our own biggest enemies-unfortunately!!!! Two days ago, I had a very interesting conversation with a friend. It centered on the woman's favorite topics (Ladies, don't front!!! You know it's true!): marriage, romance and relationships. We talked about the "together forever" clause in marriage and how exceedingly scary that is. What would it be like to spend the reeeeeeeeeeest of our lives with this man? How do we know that we will be good wives (perish the thought: GREAT wife)? For me, how do I know that I will be able to keep my man wanting to come home to me every single day? We all know how fickle men can be. I look in the mirror and some days, I am totally in love with myself, I know that I am beautiful, powerful and priceless. I cling to my hopes and dreams, my vision and purpose and my strength. I bless my God like there is no tomorrow and I bask in the beauty of His presence. I know that I am special and undeniably a gift to the world because God said so. On other days, I don't like what I see in the mirror, escalate every criticism that has come my way, list all of my supposed failures and wonder how God can have any sort of purpose for my life.

Women, when will we wake up and smell the coffee. We are unique and PERFECT just the way that God created us-our personalities, our "knob noses", our tiny ears and little eyes are features that HE chose to put there to give Him glory. Let us learn to see our beauty through His eyes because, believe me, there is a tremendous amount of it to see if we just open our eyes, listen and see through the eyes of the Spirit.

Psalm 139:14,16: "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works....in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned..." We are all custom-designed by God. WE are all GORGEOUS!!!!! Embrace that today, act on it, meditate on it, celebrate it! This ain't no flattery. It's the Gospel :)

Our Purpose

Yesterday, on our way to New York, my girlfriends (of 500 years friendship.....LOL) and I had a conversation about our careers. I plan to go to law school next year and both of my friends are in the healt care sector. Some would consider that the "high road", but for African (read: Nigerian) folks, there is nothing more satisfying than a good ol' professional career. However, we moved on to the subject of what we called "alternative career choices", because to us as Nigerian born and bred young women anything outside the professional fields is definitely alternative. We explored ideas and I mentioned, of course, my desire to run my own magazine.

That conversation suddenly had me thinking this morning about purpose. We are all created with a purpose and a destiny. There is a seal that God has put on each one of us that no one else can have. If I do not contribute my portion to the earth, no one will be able to give it exactly in the way that I would have. That, my friends, is my greatest fear: that I will leave this earth without fulfilling the purpose(s) for which I was created. This is why everyday I ask God to make my path as clear as possible.

More than anything too, I am learning that the road to God, purpose and fulfillment are full of many obstacles. God, does promse us though in Isaiah 45: 2 & 3 that "I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron: And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden treasures of secret places, that thou may know that I, the Lord, WHICH CALL THEE BY NAME, am the God of Israel." (capitals mine) If we are walking along te path that He has called us to, no matter what obstacles are in our way or what challenges we face, He will take us farther than we would ever imagine. Live in purpose!!! Revel and dance with it. The day is ours :)

New Beginning!!!!

I am totally new to this world of blogging and therefore, more than a little nervous. I've been an avid reader of several blogs for the past year and a half. I've been encouraged, lifted up, entertained, humored and challenged by so many that I decided to give it a shot. I truly hope that my sincere attempt at this will not only be successful but uplift and entertain at least one. that will be worth the effort.
I will try to post three times a week at the very least. I will share insights on God, purpose, laughter, fashion, leadership and a few other things that I am learning in life. Hope you enjoy it! Have a great day till tmrw ;)